Another Teacher speaks out.

Great American teachers of the USA!!!

michellerhee · 1 day ago

I worked in a Gulen charter school last year for six weeks. (I didn't know it at the time.) It was very poorly run. Unprepared students, curriculum not being taught completely (as is mandated by state law). They are also very nasty people and they play dirty.

In our rush to privatize public education, we are handing the keys over to radical Islam. Wake up, America!

http://frontpagemag.com/2010/11/23/debbie-schlussel-stands-up-for-persecuted-christian-teachers-%E2%80%93-in-america/?cid=117142

For more information about the Gulen Charter Schools in the USA go to:
http://www.gulencharterschoolsusa.blogspot.com/

Harmony Science Academy- Teacher speaks out........

http://blogs.chron.com/believeitornot/2010/11/church_state_school_texas_char_1.html
Hello I current work at Harmony School. I need the job due to the lack of jobs available right now. However, I am glad that the school is being researched. I have noticed a lot of questionable practice and I wonder how they are legal and definately think they should be investigated. Here are some practices that should be investigated.
-On their website they claim to have a 1/11 teacher/student ratio. At every school I have visited I have noticed about a 1/26 ratio. Nowhere near 1/11. However, some teachers are labeled "teachers" and teach only one period and do other duties the rest of the time. They may have a large teacher pool but they are not working with students this may be how they get around this.
-Also, most of the newly built schools are hastily built and occupied by students before all safety issues are met. Someone should send safety investigators to newly built schools.
-At my school, there are more American teachers than Turkish teachers. However, many of the Turkish teachers do not speak English well enough to teach effectively. I have witnessed many students drop out due to this reason. I think the school should be investigated as to if all the Turkish teachers can pass the test all the American teachers take in order to be able to teach.
-There is a lot of nepotism at the school. Many of the administrator's spouses teach at sister schools. Most of the administrators are Turkish men. There seems to be sexist and nationalist discrimination in many aspects of the school.
-Muslim religion seems to set a lot of school policy. This can be noticed in the dresscode policy and student food policies at some schools.
-They disregard teacher rights by denying them a duty-free lunch and planning period at many schools.
-They are reluctant to hire substitutes instead they pull out teacher's aides from Kindergarten and teachers who should be having a planning period during that time.
-Their websites makes false claims such as the 1/11 ratio and 0% drop-out rate but they have no free speech forum for others to correct their mistakes.
Please investigate these policies!

Letter to Harmony Science Academy Superintendent- Dr. Soner Tarim

Dear Mr. Tarim;
It is common knowledge that Harmony Science Academys and the staff have long solid connections to the Gulen Movement.  You have long denied these long term relationships with Hizmet and Cosmos Foundation, Raindrop Turkish House, the Gulen Institute and Turquoise Council which all have proven inter relations even going back to when you lived in Turkey.  Lets stop playing games. You are even on the Board of the Directors for the Gulen Institute in Houston.  Yet you try to lie about your connections to Gulen. 
We have a proposal for you,
We will gladly pay for you to be deposed in front of a magistrate judge so you can make a declaration about this.  Please come clean and show some of that Turkish Character about telling the TRUTH and TRANSPARENCY.  Then we can all move on to our normal lives, move forward in "Harmony" instead of the lies and deception.   How about it Soner?  Up for the Truth and that deposition?  We will pay for it.

P.S. We noticed that Cosmos Foundation is recruiting Legal Counsel from Turkey.  If you have to work so hard to deny your obvious and proven affliations with Fethullah Gulen then perhaps you are ashamed of this?

How about it Soner?  Lets depose you....then we can move on

Looked for your State Board for Educator Certification (SBEC) at TEA (first name Soner, last name: Tarim) but there is none listed.  Under which name did you earn your SBEC superintendent certificate?  Oh that is right, since you are part of Hizmet you are "special" and entitled to whatever you want in America.



Harmony Science Academy an Islamic school funded by public money



Harmony Science Academy rehearses for theTurkish Olympiad



Harmony Science Academy in Turkish costumes meet Ambassador from Turkey

http://www.jsonline.com/blogs/news/110222464.html

One of every five Texas charter schools has religious ties

By Amy Hetzner of the Journal Sentinel

Nov. 23, 2010 |(5) Comments

The same day that the West Bend School Board voted against entering contract negotiations with a Baptist pastor to run a publicly funded charter school, The Dallas Morning News ran a story focusing on the large number of charter schools in Texas that used to be parochial schools or had other religious ties.

In addition to noting that more than 20% of Texas charter schools have some kind of religious ties, the story says that such church-charter partnerships are popping up around the country and blurring the lines between church and state.

"You have to wonder what the impetus is," Dan Quinn, a spokesman for Texas Freedom Network, is quoted as saying in the story. "What is the catalyst for becoming a charter because at that point they've abandoned the mission of being a religious institution?"

The story also points out some non-Christian examples, including Harmony Public Schools run by Turkish Muslims and Tarek ibn Ziyad Academy run by Islam Relief.

The pastor who proposed the charter school for West Bend has said that his church would not play a role in the school and that it would abide by laws that forbid religious teachings in public schools. But West Bend School District officials and others raised concerns about the school's curriculum and funding model.

Harmony Science Academy awards bids to build schools to Turkish contractors.

READ MORE AT PEYTON WOLCOTT'S REPORT AT: http://peytonwolcott.com/Charters_Cosmos.html

UN AMERICAN STEALING AMERICAN MONEY

How are contractors chosen for your schools?  Are contracts put out for open bid?  Why this question comes up:
On the most  currently available IRS Public Charity form 990 posted for Cosmos Foundation, the contractor with
the largest compensation from HPS--Atlas Texas Construction & Trading, Inc., with almost three times the earnings of all other major listed HPS contractors ($6,709,375)-- has direct ties to Turkey; wondering what other 
qualifications they brought that earned them such a large contract. The second one listed on the HPS IRS form 990, North American Construction [sic], appears to have no presence at the Texas Comptroller as regards franchise tax responsibilities--even when the third name is "Constuctions"; however therre is an assumed named for NACCO but no Comptroller presence, although thre is one for "NACCO HOMES, INC.," which could perhaps be "North American Construction.,") and is owned by Mohammed Mujeebullah.  I am unable to find much on any of these three and here again I am wondering the criteria for awarding a $1.2 million contract to "North American Consturction Co.,The penultimate name on the contractor list is "EGE Construction LLC" which is owned by
Osman Ozkan; again not able to find much in the way of records for this business.   Anyways.....the Turkish contractors Tuzuk a portion of their proceeds from the contract jobs BACK to the schools or other Gulen groups. 

Mapping the Gulen Movement, admission of Gulen Charter schools in Texas

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eJmldzfD884

At 11:50 Dr. Ebaugh talks about the Gulen Charter schools in Texas. 
Why did the guy at the table get nervous?

http://www.gulencharterschoolsUSA.blogspot.com

FOR MORE ON BABA GULEN'S USA SCHOOLS GO TO:
http://www.gulencharterschoolsusa.blogspot.com/

Gulen School Fraud- Colorado Lotus School for Excellence DENIED application

There is an interesting controversy at the St. Vrain Valley School District concerning the approval of two new charter schools. According to the district’s accountability and accreditation committee Lotus School of Excellence and Skyview Charter School fail to meet the minimum standards for approval.
As a former teacher, parent and grandparent, I recognize the importance of a superior education. The institution of free public education to all children in the United States is something that we should treasure – forever.
A public education serves many purposes. It provides the foundation necessary to succeed in a complex society. I am reminded of the saying that “we learn to read in order that we might read to learn.” It prepares us for citizenship, not just as Americans but as citizens of a larger world.
As a society we have concluded that an educated population is of benefit to all of us and accordingly we have agreed to tax ourselves to achieve this. Regardless of age or family status education benefits us individually and collectively.
Raising and educating children has always been and will always be a challenge. We are all of us individuals with differing levels of intellect and talent. We learn through different methods and we have individual interests.
As Americans we have had many choices to educate our children. We can send them to public schools, private schools or religious schools. If we choose the latter two, any costs associated with those choices are our individual responsibility.
In recent decades public charter schools have gained cachet. Declining student performance has caused us to examine reasons and solutions. That is as it should be. However, there is an absence of purity of purpose in our efforts. Superior performance should be the only goal, but that is not and perhaps never has been the sole motivation behind this changing emphasis.
As such, the move toward public charter schools needs to be examined for motives beyond a high quality education.
One of the underlying motives for pushing charter schools is a hatred of teachers unions by some individuals and segments of our society. Our public school teachers have been demonized simply because they belong to a union. Certainly there are good and bad teachers as there are good and bad electricians, plumbers, accountants, lawyers, analysts, financial advisors, and so on. That will always be the case. However, the quality of our teachers is only one component of poor pupil performance, and very probably not the most important component. The student, the parent, peers and broader societal conditions all bear some responsibility.
Americans are resistant to change, especially sudden and drastic change. They have demonstrated that over and over again. For this reason, we need to be especially concerned about incrementalism, movement in slow and subtle steps to an outcome that would not be acceptable if it were to take place all at once.
There are those whose goal is to privatize all education. There are those who seek tax credits and/or vouchers for private, religious and homeschooling. All of this flies in the face of our agreed upon social goals and the reasonable sharing of the cost.
In the case of Lotus School of Excellence there is a further complicating issue. Lotus plans to rent space at LifeBridge Christian Church, located in unincorporated Boulder County just north of Highway 66.
The Times-Call has had two articles this week on the controversy of approving the applicants. Several readers commented on the articles. Amongst them is Matt Yapanel, president of the board of directors of Lotus.
He writes the following about the relationship between Lotus and LifeBridge.

Charter schools get around 30% less funding then regular public schools. That’s why we have to be extremely careful with our spending. Creating an efficiently run school is the goal and we make even pennies count toward improving student achievement. With less money, most charter schools are providing better opportunities for their students. I can tell you that we have achieved this in our Aurora campus which was a previous church/private school facility. When we leased space from the church, they were in financial trouble; they had another project to build and move but were not able to sell their existing facility. As a charter school, that facility was very suitable for us to serve as our permanent campus. We purchased the facility, co-existed in the building sharing the mortgage payments in which time Lotus improved its enrollment to fully support the facility when the church has moved out. Meanwhile church has built their great new home and moved there ultimately. Both entities got what they needed to the best possible extent; it was a win-win situation for both parties. Lotus took over the full facility this year and opened an elementary school to serve 610 students, 65% of which are free-reduced lunch eligible and 80% are minority students. Because of the shared use of the space, we saved hundreds of thousands of dollars, which we put right back into the classroom. Therefore, sharing space with a church is a fiscally very responsible move. We are a public school simply sharing space with a church, that’s what most charter schools do as they establish their program and work to acquire a permanent campus. It is challenging to be able to pay for a facility when you get 30% less dollars. However it is not the quality or appearance of the facility that matters, it is the programs running in that facility that matters the most.

Although Mr. Yapanel was speaking about the Aurora situation, those who are aware of circumstances surrounding LifeBridge will see strong similarities in both situations.
LifeBridge mortgaged it’s properties at Highway 66 and those in Weld County between Union Reservoir and Highway 119 for $26 million dollars in July of 2007. They planned to build a waterfront community of homes with a substantial religious campus as well as commercial enterprises. Their intent was to annex the Weld County properties to Longmont. There is also a history of attempts to annex to Longmont the church’s existing facilities and properties. None of those efforts came to fruition because of resistance within the Longmont community for many reasons and from many interests.
In December of 2009 LifeBridge refinanced its debt to the Church Development Fund (CDF) and turned approximately half of its Weld County properties over to CDF as deeds in lieu of foreclosure. The LifeBridge project was derailed by the economic conditions that have resulted in massive declines in both residential and commercial development, amongst other changing financial circumstances.
With LifeBridge in need of money and Lotus in need of a location, the two entities have joined forces. One of the concerns that the St. Vrain Valley School District with which it is wrestling is indirectly supporting the financial needs of LifeBridge Church through taxpayer dollars that would go to support Lotus. This is a slippery slope towards violation of the establishment clause of the First Amendment.
If Lotus can overcome its low score in the accreditation assessment, it would do well to find a location other than a church to house its school. In today’s economic situation, I’m confident that there are options for its location that would not place the SVVSD in the precarious position of de facto supporting a church.
All of us with a concern for the education of our children, need to take a step back and ask further: Are charter schools really the answer to our needs or are they a step towards privatization? If our schools are substantially privatized, what happens to the education of those who cannot afford private tuition? If tax dollars are used to support school privatization as they are in so many other instances, who then decides what is taught and how it is taught?
There is a place for public, private and religious schools. But only public education deserves taxpayer support. We can fix what’s wrong without throwing the baby out with the bathwater.

HEY MATT OOPS WE MEAN UMIT, TAKE THAT ONE AND SHOVE IT WHERE THE SUN DOESN'T SHINE.   Here is an American expression for you "Take a hike"

UPDATE 12/8/2010 SUPERINTENDANT TO DENY LOTUS SCHOOL FOR EXCELLENCE
http://www.timescall.com/news_story.asp?ID=24487

Matt, this is what happens when you get involved with Christian groups like LifeBridge.  Do you really think they accept you into their group?

Gulen Charter Schools and Movement targets for hate?

 According to Gulen's Today Zaman 4/30/2010 article, there is a "misguided crusade" against Gulen's group.  The article explores the 3 likely "conspiracy theories" against the Gulen Movement.  1) The harder line Turkish Sunni Muslims or radical Muslims 2)  Israel or Jewish conspirators 3) The Act for America - which ironically is called anti-American by Gulen's many posters and periodicals. 

 Who is anti-American?  Who brings in un credentialed teachers under H1-B visas and FIRES American teachers? Who only has Turkish Males as Principals in their schools? Who chucks Turkification and Turkishness off on American Children?  Who has Turkish Olympiads and parades their culture off on students?  Turkish Character classes?  Trips to Europe ..oops I mean "Turkey."   There are countless examples of the Gulen Movement's anti-American behaviors, they will accuse others of this but in reality the majority are not American but are in the USA under work Visas. 

http://todayszaman.com/columnist-208887-a-misguided-crusade-against-pious-turks-in-the-us.html

April 30, 2010

misguided crusade against pious Turks in the US

Some Americans are obsessed with “radical Islam” in the United States. One such character is Stephen Suleyman Schwartz. Mr. Schwartz is a convert to Islam who is engaged in a vociferous intellectual war against radical Muslims.

The problem is, he claims even some of the most peaceful and constructive Muslim groups in US, such as pious Turks associated with the Gülen movement, are “radicals.” His rhetoric is tantamount to hate speech, which raises a big red flag about Mr. Schwartz's crusade. In a recent piece for American Thinker, a conservative news website, Mr. Schwartz went about the task of alarming his fellow Americans about the Gülen movement. Not surprisingly, his piece was sponsored by the “Islamist Watch” project of the Middle East Forum, an Islamophobic, pro-Israel think-tank based in Philadelphia. Mr. Schwartz argues that Turkish Muslim sympathizers of Fethullah Gülen are part of a “secretive foreign network of Islamic radicals,” calls their actions in opening charter schools in the US “conspiratorial” and exhorts Americans to “unite to oppose it.” First of all, what makes Mr. Schwartz believe that Gülen sympathizers are “radicals”? Is there a single shred of evidence that the Gülen movement has disrupted social peace or advocated radicalism in the US or elsewhere? On the contrary, there's overwhelming information proving just the opposite. This is a transnational peace-building movement with strong emphasis on universal values and science. The Gülen group has been a frequent target of radical Muslims in Turkey and abroad, mainly due to their non-confrontational attitude vis-a-vis the West. Immediately after Sept. 11, Gülen ran an ad in The Washington Post condemning terrorism and offering condolences to the victims. He later called Osama bin Laden a “beast.” In the eyes of many radical Muslims and Turkish ultranationalists, Gülen, who met Pope John Paul II in 1998, secretly became a cardinal to evangelize Turkey. They allege that Gülen and the movement are a proxy of the CIA. So if Mr. Schwartz is really worried about “radical” Muslims, he should look somewhere else. Since Gülen sympathizers are not radicals, why is there no place for them in Mr. Schwartz's concept of “Islamic pluralism,” which he supposedly advocates as executive director of the Center for Islamic Pluralism? Probably he does not know enough about the Gülen movement. Or he might have fallen into a trap, stereotyping under the influence of secularist Turkish friends. Turkey's secularist fundamentalists can easily label you as an “Islamist” or a “radical,” even if you are merely a practicing Muslim. In their eyes, pious Muslims are OK as long as they remain practical slaves for them. But when they violate (!) the elite zone by investing in key areas such as education, media, finance, bureaucracy, etc., the Turkish oligarchs get mad. That's the Gülen movement's big sin! An apartheid-type attitude towards the majority religious conservatives may have been the norm in Turkey's monopoly-obsessed secularist establishment. But what should we make of Americans who act similarly? Is it the Sept. 11 effect? Or is it because they are simply bigots? In Mr. Schwartz's case, his close association with right-wing Jewish groups and some neocons should not be discounted as well. Jewish trauma from the Holocaust was only exacerbated after Israel's wars with the Arabs. Many Jews see Israel as insecure in a predominantly Muslim Middle East. Islam is often used as a vehicle of resistance, which at times takes the form of radicalism and terrorism against expansionist Israeli policies. As a result, many moderate pious Muslims find it difficult to prove they are not a threat. Such suspicion of religious Muslims is especially more common among pro-Israel Jewish and American rightists. So, if some Muslim Turks in the US are keeping a low profile about their association with faith-based movements, it must be because of fear from bigotry as a minority rather than a secret agenda. And articles like Mr. Schwartz's prove they may have a point. Since the US is a free country, why should it be a problem if pious Turks operate public charter schools, as long as they meet the legal and academic criteria? That's the case with the schools inspired by Gulen's pacifist ideas. Authorities constantly monitor these schools. Had there been any credible evidence of illegal or inappropriate activity, they would have taken the necessary punitive actions (as they should). You may find a few parents or teachers angry with the administration for various reasons at any school. Given the stereotypes about Islam, they may also try to use the “foreign” and “religious” element to bolster their arguments. However, a majority of the students, parents and local authorities believe these schools are making an immense contribution to social peace and justice in the US via education. In a country where there is a serious public education crisis, the last thing one should do is discourage successful entrepreneurs at charter schools. Mr. Schwartz’s unwise attitude not only has the potential to hurt US education, it is also very un-American. He is promoting a witch-hunt and discrimination towards a group of innocent, law-abiding and tax-paying Turkish Muslims. And believe me, he is not alone. Unchecked, such discourse might pave the way for hate crimes towards minority Turkish-Muslim Americans, disrupting social peace and further deteriorating America’s relations with Turkey and the rest of the Islamic world. The US government and sensible Americans must unite to oppose it, just as they tackle anti-Semitism, xenophobia and other forms of intolerance.

This is a loose confession of the schools being affiliated with Gulen. Not to mention it also laundry lists the radical groups who may target Gulen and his Madrassas (schools) around the globe. We already know about the PKK. I am sure Al Qaida may want to get at him for calling Osama a beast and for siding with America.  The word needs to get out on these schools. They are a political target. No matter if you like them or not as a parent. They have enemies. Not like us who blog who just want to raise awareness but some serious heavy hitters and radical thinkers who may want to kill them and make examples out of them. They have targets painted on them.  These parents need to understand that smoke and mirrors of the belief of better education and Olympiad contests come with a price and there are strings attached. I feel this article may have some back lash in the Muslim world. It isn't just a controversy in local neighborhoods but on a global scale. Why put your children in a situation like this everyday is beyond me.  Whether you love the school or not they do have enemies.

Colorado- Godfather Gulen and his Mafia want to make you an offer you cannot refuse

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=--AD76wnOWI  <----Gulen as the GODFATHER, Don Gulen

On November 11, 2010, Gulen's Lotus School for Excellence which shamelessly hides inside of a church in Aurora, Colorado is once again presenting to the St. Vrain Valley School District a charter application for another school.  As you may or may not know, they have been turned down on their expansion before, seems they don't perform as well as the "scholars" say they are.  Maybe they need to step it up on their Turkish Character classes or perhaps MORE FREE trips to Turkey or local Turkish Cultural Events ironically staged around the time they are due to present (AGAIN) their proposal.
So WHO are the lucky recipients of Mosaic Foundations FREE trips to Turkey?-for those of you beginner Gulen enthusiasts Mosaic Foundation is Gulen's Interfaith Dialog group in Colorado.  Any guesses?..............
As usual the recipients of the FREE "dog and pony" shows to Turkey are members of local Academia, Politics and Media.  The only catch to their FREE trips is that they must write GLOWING reports about Gulen's schools and how the people were so kind.
What they don't report in these STAGED trips is the civil unrest and INVESTIGATION of the Gulen Movement in Turkey vs. the Kemalist who believe in a secular country.  Or about the PKK threatening one Gulen School in SE Turkey (more about this in a later post) or about the hostility that Turkey shows toward their indigenous Christian population.    Here you go the information on the FREE "Dog and Pony" Shows to Turkey, they even get to visit Gulen's media empire Zaman where Gulen's Mafia cleverly controls all the sweet kind stories about Don Gulen The Godfather of the Gulen Mafia.  Do any of you know that my Turkey still has a censorship policy called Article 301--Under Article 301 if a journalist dares to print the truth about Turkey they could and have been arrested for "insulting Turkishness", - Ask Nobel Prize winner Orham Pamuk.
       Several trips to Turkey for Colorado Academia, Politicians and Journalists:

http://blog.ednewscolorado.org/2010/06/08/we-get-what-we-deserve/   est. $3,200.00

Alan Gottlieb a local educator in Colorado was sent to report back how great the Gulen education is in Turkey.

This has been done from state to state, some send the local TV news stations as in the case of Dan Marries by Accord Institute’s sister schools in Arizona. Who in turn did a series on the trip to Turkey with the students from SSA.

We learned today why other countries are eating our lunch when it comes to education. We paid a visit to Ibrahim Büyükkoyuncu hıgh school on the outskirts of Konya, a provincial capital in south-central Turkey. It’s a private Gülen school for boys grades 9-12. Actually, it’s two schools in one (and there is a girl’s equivalent across town) – one focused on sciences, one on languages. (One of the many excerpts from Gottlieb’s blog) by the way this is untrue, Turkey’s educational system is horrid and corrupt

http://www.chadauer.com/trip-to-turkey  est. $6,400.00

Mayor Chad Auer gets a complimentary trip to Turkey by the Gulen Interfaith people – note his slide show photos one is in front of Gulen”s Zaman – Newspaper media.  Chad Auer is the mayor of Firestone, CO, 13 miles from Longmont where the second Lotus school is trying to open.

Ya think Chadster will try and recommend the Charter School Application?   

http://www.vaildaily.com/article/20101016/AE/101019859   est $6,400.00

Reporters of the Vail Daily in Turkey – Dennis Jones and Yolanda Marshall 

Fethullah Gülen is a Turkish intellectual now living in Pennsylvania. His writings have inspired a movement, said to have the sympathies of 75 percent of Turks. One of its primary goals is education. Later, we are to visit several schools and a university built by the movement- EXCERPT FROM THEIR TRAVEL BLOG TO TURKEY….I GUESS WE KNOW WHO PAID FOR THIS TRIP DON’T WE?

**Colorado members of Congress sent to Turkey 2006-2010 Total $18,089

http://www.legistorm.com/trip/list.html?by=search&id=x&traveler=&start_date=09%2F01%2F2006&end_date=10%2F27%2F2010&approver=&approver_state=CO&approver_party=&sponsor=&destination=Turkey&destination_state=&destination_country=37&purpose=&commit=Search

Cong. Mark Udall ($3,020)  by Rumi Forum for Interfaith Dialog (GULEN NGO)  for Alan Salazar

Cong. Tom Tanfredo ($3,020) by Rumi Forum for Interfaith Dialog (GULEN NGO) for Tyler Houlton

Cong. Ed Perlmitter (3,589) by Turkish Coalition of America (TASCO /Colorado branch) for Jose Rodriguez

Additional $9,000+ in trips to Turkey appear to be by a group that may not be associated with Gulen (German Marshall fund of the US)

HERE IS A COLORADO CHARTER SCHOOL BLOG MENTIONING OUR DON GULEN

Colorado Charter School Blog

http://coloradocharters.blogspot.com/2010/08/turkish-americans-lead-100-charter.html

UPDATE SUPERINTENDANT WILL SUGGEST TO DENY LOTUS SCHOOL FOR EXCELLENCE
http://www.timescall.com/news_story.asp?ID=24487

Matt;  This is what happens when you get involved with the wicked Christian groups like Lifebridge.  They will get the better of you.